Peter Reich

Regents Professor in the Department of Forest Resources

Peter Reich is a Regents professor, Distinguished McKnight University Professor, F.B. Hubachek, Sr. Professor in the department of Forest Resources at the University of Minnesota. Major themes of his research include:

  • Global climate (and other environmental) change effects on temperate and boreal forests
  • Interactions among CO2, N, and diversity in grassland ecosystems
  • Natural and anthropogenic disturbance as drivers of ecosystem change
  • Scaling from leaves and roots to ecosystems and landscapes
  • Global patterns of plant physiology and chemistry
  • Mechanistic integration: Linking plant traits, resources, disturbances, community dynamics and ecosystem structure/function

In addition to his work at the University of Minnesota, Reich is involved in the Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment (HIE) at the Western Sydney University. This institute is dedicated to answering crucial questions about the impact of environmental change on land-based ecosystems.

As part of Reich's efforts to engage the public in ecology, environmental issues, global change science and earth science, he is part of a small team producing the YouTube science education channel, MinuteEarth. The topics of these short videos (~2 min) include our climate, atmosphere, oceans, forests, food systems, transportation systems, insects, and human biology.

Course(s) taught

GCC 5008

Peter Reich Photo